Candlelight memorial honors O.C. homeless people who died this year

Candles flickered in remembrance of transient people who died this year in Orange County during the Homeless Persons’ Inter-religious Memorial Service held in the arboretum at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Thursday.

The Diocese of Orange and advocacy organizations held the second annual memorial service on National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day — the first day of winter and the longest night of the year — to give dignity to the 210 men, women and children who died on the streets of the county.

The annual event was held blocks from one of the largest homeless encampments in the county, located along the Santa Ana River Trail.

“In honoring the inherent dignity of each of these human beings that have perished, we are called to shine a light on the issue of homelessness in our communities and encourage all to set aside any judgment or callousness and respond to the desperate calls from our streets,” said Michael Donaldson, director of Pastoral Care for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.

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Twitter: @KathleenLuppi